Not only does Prince of Wales Island, Alaska have a royal-sounding name, but it is also a beautiful island with calm and serene surroundings. It is filled with beautiful scenery, wildlife and has many relaxing things to do. The island is about 45 miles wide by 140 miles long and has approximately 990-miles of coastline. It is surrounded by bays, coves and straits.

Summer on Prince of Wales Island has temperatures that range from 49 degrees F to 82 degrees F. The months of July and August are particularly great for a visit to the island because this is when the salmon are spawning and the bears and wolves are catching and feeding on the salmon. Some of the other things waiting for your enjoyment are fishing, camping, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking and hiking on one of the many trails that are available. There are also over 600 caves on the island, some which you can explore, or you can take an exciting boat tour.

If you enjoy seeing wildlife in their natural habitat, Prince of Wales is the place to be. There are many wildlife viewing sites that you can choose from. Many of them have viewing platforms that are wheelchair accessible and that have restrooms. There are about 1,300 miles of roads on the island. Some of the roads are paved and some are well-maintained gravel roads, making it easy to get around.

Areas of interest may be Memorial Beach, Balls Lake, Sandy Beach Road, to name just a few.

Memorial Beach is where you can view humpback and killer whales out in Sumner Strait. Closer to the shore you will see harbor seals and Steller’s sea lions. There are a variety of birds at Memorial Beach that you will not see in the continental U.S. Some of those birds are pelagic cormorants, rhinoceros auklets, buffleheads, storm petrels and pigeon guillemots.

Beavers, black bears, eiders (large black and white sea ducks), river otters and Sitka black-tailed deer may be seen at Balls Lake. There are also hiking trails and picnic areas available.

On the eastern side of Prince of Wales Island is Sandy Beach Road. This is an unpaved road with pulloffs. Here you may see black bears, eagles, great blue herons, harbor seals, humpback and killer whales, Sitka black-tailed deer and Steller’s sea lions.

You will find Prince of Wales Island so delightful that you may never want to leave.

When planning my trip to Prince of Wales Island in Alaska I never imagined I would have as much fun as I did. Most of those planning vacations do not think to put Alaska as the top choice on their list, but after this trip, I am going to make sure to recommend Prince of Wales Island in Alaska to all my friends!

When I first arrived in Alaska, I was fairly surprised at its beauty. Coming from the large city of Miami and working hard at a Miami grease trap cleaning company, I was used to extremely busy streets and crowds. The calamity and peacefulness took me by surprise once arriving in Alaska.After making my way to the Prince of Wales Island in Alaska I was also surprised to find out that this island is the 3rd largest in the country. Besides its incredible size, the island offered an adventure seeker like me plenty of activities to do. Sure I loved the scenic views Alaska had to offer, but the combination of that and adventure is what will have me coming back again.

The island had over a 1,000 miles of roads, both paved and gravel, to take me to various locations. The 4 nights I spent there was not nearly enough to get me to all the places I wanted to go. One of the most magnificent things I was able to do was explore the grottos of the Prince of Wales Island. These grottos, which are pretty much caves, are abundant to the area. The most interesting cave that I visited was the El Capitan cave. The tour of the cave lasted about 2 hours and was lead by a well-informed park ranger.

I had decided that I would like to stay in a location which would enable me to explore more of the scenery and forests by myself. I also wanted somewhere where I could enjoy the view from my room. This is why I decided to stay at the Alaskan Escape cabins. These cabins were all waterfront properties and were fairly affordable. They enabled me to be close to fishing areas, which is something that I enjoy doing. Watching the sunrise and sunset over the water was a great sight for me. The cabin also had many amenities, such as a fully equipped kitchen, a freezer, a smoker, a crab pot and it even came with a powerful Lund Skiif for my fishing expedition.

My trip to Prince of Wales Island in Alaska is one that I will never forget. From mountain biking to fishing, to just enjoying the scenery and canoeing, Alaska had it all. I hope to return soon to continue my adventure.

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Prince of Wales Island, Alaska is America’s third largest island. Anglers can cover 2600 square miles of terrain for some action packed Alaskan sport fishing. POW as it is affectionately called by its island residents has a lot to offer anglers with a variety of fish and wildlife. Salt water charter fishing is available and […]

Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island is a beautiful island known for amazing fishing, camping, and hiking. Prince of Wales Island is the nation’s third largest island, located about 600 miles north of Seattle in Southeast Alaska, near Ketchikan. With an extensive road system of over 1500 miles of roads (paved & unpaved). You can easily explore the […]